Cloudy water!!

[riddlephil]

I have had my tank setup for 6 months now and it is finished cycling but i still have a problem with dirty water.  I wouldnt say its cloudy, just the clarity isnt like what it should be like at the lfs.  The water isnt cloudy or green, just dirty.  I have an eheim 2015 canister filter and a marineland 330 biowheel but i cant seem to get crystal clear water.  Does that seachem purigen stuff make a big difference???

 

[Jay S.]

When is the last time you cleaned your filters?

If you want to polish your water add some fresh carbon to your marineland 330 biowheel and leave the Ehiem just the way it is, but if you haven't cleaned eather filter out for say "6 months" It would be best to clean 50% of your filter media out in a bucket of your "tanks water".

 

[riddlephil]

i cleaned out my eheim 2 weeks ago. replaced all but half of the substrat

 

[Jay S.]

Is this a tank with lots of plants in it? it could be from poor water flow.

 

[ronrca]

What kind of filter media do you have? I use what they call "filter floss" which works really good. It really "polishes" or cleans the water from tiny particales. You can even buy it at Walmart really cheap. Its the same stuff used for quilts or pillows.

 

[riddlephil]

I have really good water flow i think, i dont get any scum on the top, i have the two filters and a small powerhead.  I only have two plants, amazon sword and a crypt.  I use filter floss as well, it seems to pick up lots of particles, just for some reason the water looks dirty.  When u siphon some water up out into a bucket(without disturbing the gravel) it looks like a yellow color

 

[ronrca]

Do you by any chance have a well?

 

[ffong]

did you just get a new driftwood in your tank???

 

[Matt Nace]

Got flourite?
What substrate...do you add anything to it?

try extending the intake closer to the ground on one of the filters. I would also slightly go over the gravel with the vaccum, and into the gravel where there are no plants.

What size tank is this anyways?

 

[tizme]

No expert, but I've had similar trouble.  Apparently if you clean the tank too much you cause the "new tank syndrome".  The natural bacteria that fish and plants create is stunted by the repeated cleaning.  Also, the oils from our skin (if we're in and out of the tank) contribute to tank cloudiness as does overfeeding.  Just some food for thought.